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Info Absolution (Summary - List of stories) . The Wounded Hawk << previous act | Act 3 of 4 | next act >> For A Mother's Love << previous chapter |''' Chapter 30 of 39 | Act 4 >> << previous scene | '''Scene 2 of 2 | next scene >> Summary * Location: *Participants: *Time: *Summary: Text Antares awoke with a moan of pain to a world that was only blurs and sounds, coughing blood before he heard a curse that sounded both frustrated and relieved at the same time... and then he cried out in agony as he felt hooves press against his chest, before Scarlet Sage's voice whispered to him soothingly: "I know it hurts, little brother, just hold on... hold on..." Antares groaned again... then arched his back, eyes snapping wide as his blood seemed to boil in his body, unable to repress a howl before he slumped as the pain ended as suddenly as it had come. He breathed hard in and out, then trembled and touched his chest, trying to sit up... before shivering at the fact he couldn't, his eyes looking weakly back and forth as he whispered: "Where... where am I..." But his vision was returning now as Scarlet Sage leaned over him... and his eyes widened as he realized she was dressed in her armor, the silver scale mail gleaming over her frame and a bladed bracelet glinting around one foreleg as she said quietly: "You're at the clinic, Antares. You need to stay here with the others... you're out of this fight." "No, I can... I, I can..." Antares tried to sit up again, but Scarlet Sage reached up and grasped his shoulder gently: not to stop him, but more to comfort him, as he failed again to sit up when agony blurred through him and he slumped back to the pillows and bed. He shivered weakly, then looked up and whispered: "What... what happened? I... oh no, I failed..." "No, Antares, you did what you could. The others told Celestia what happened, it's not your fault." Scarlet Sage said forcefully, and then she shook her head and added quietly: "You need to stay here, and don't try to move too much. Selene saved you but... you got caught by her powers too. Your ribs were... crushed, and there was... a lot of internal damage. I've done the best I could but you need to let your body heal what it can, and Zecora and I will continue to treat you afterwards. It was a really bad combination with... with the potion you took wearing off, and the pain side effect kicking in." Antares whimpered a little despite himself, slowly staring down at his chest: wrapped in bandages, and he realized there was something hard over him, almost like breastplate... to protect his body, he thought. He breathed slowly in and out, shaking his head weakly before Scarlet Sage leaned in and touched his face, saying quietly: "You're going to get better. We have some of the best healers around who are going to do everything to make you better, Antares. But we're... we're short on time. Griselda is maybe ten minutes away from Ponyville and her swarm is-" Scarlet Sage looked up with a wince as a klaxon cut through the air, and she gritted her teeth before shaking her head sharply. "The swarm is here. Meadowlark, Antares is awake! Keep an eye on him and everypony here, I need to go help out the others!" Meadowlark looked up from across the room, but Scarlet Sage didn't have the time to wait for a response; the silvery Pegasus spun around, running towards the door even as a bolt of pain ran through her as she heard Antares calling weakly to her. In moments she was out of the clinic, looking quickly back and forth before a terrible roar shook the air, and Scarlet Sage spread her wings and leapt upwards, flying quickly into the air and gazing over the wall with a wince at the sight of the massive, hulking monstrosity that was Griselda in the distance. And worse, as she looked up, she saw Takers descending from the sky towards them as other bug-creatures tore through the field, screaming and shrieking and heedless of the bullets and arrows and magic that was already pelting into the attacking horde. Scarlet Sage dropped back to the street, beginning to run towards town square, and a Taker leapt into her path: without slowing, Scarlet Sage simply slammed both front hooves into its head and vaulted over it, flapping her wings once to launch herself further away from the disoriented beast as she focused on her objective. Then her eyes widened as there was a rumbling before a Taker Beetle plowed out of an alley, knocking wooden fencing and debris flying as it skidded into her path and turned to roar at her furiously. Scarlet Sage set herself, gritting her teeth before the Beetle leaned forwards, vomiting a stream of goo at her, but the Pegasus quickly sidestepped, then flapped her wings and propelled herself upwards, quickly using the bladed bracelet to slice her own foreleg open before swinging her limb out as her eyes began to glow. Blood splattered down over the Beetle's features, and it snarled before Scarlet Sage's red eyes flashed as she grimaced and shoved a hoof towards the monster: immediately, the blood that had splashed over the monster bubbled and swirled before hardening, becoming like cement over the creature's eyes and blinding it as it howled in frustration and stumbled back and forth. The Pegasus used this opportunity to fly quickly past the blinded monster, reminding herself that she had to get to Celestia: that nothing else mattered at this point but- She saw the Takers too late, and Scarlet Sage yelled in shock as the three bug-creatures tackled her out of the air, driving her down to the ground with a loud bang. She snarled as one bit at her, just managing to yank her head out of the way before she slammed her skull into its nose, and the bug creature hissed and staggered backwards before the Pegasus kicked the second beast off her, then cried out in agony when the third monster raked its claws through her wing. Feathers and blood burst up, and Scarlet rolled to her hooves before one of the Takers tackled her, crushing her down as her wounded wing flapped, sending droplets of blood everywhere. Scarlet Sage released another hiss of pain as the monster's claws tore at her scalp and its jaws bit at her, thankfully only getting a mouthful of her mane and little more than a nip to her skin before her eyes glowed as she arched her back, uncontrollable fury filling her up for a moment. The droplets of her blood over the ground and that had splattered on the Takers boiled violently, then burst into intense red flames that distracted the monsters as they shrieked in agony. Immediately, Scarlet Sage yanked herself free from beneath them, then she spun around and slammed a hoof into the nearest Taker's head, knocking it stumbling before she slashed her bladed bracelet hard across the monster's face. It sent up a burst of green-black blood, the Taker shrieking as the red flames burnt themselves out but the other monsters continued to shake themselves violently, still distracted by the pain. Then the Pegasus leapt forwards, seizing the monster she had just attacked around the neck and wincing in disgust even as she forced herself to lean down and lick up the awful blood from the bug-like monster's wound, then shove it backwards as pain wrenched through her system. Buzzing voices entered her head, whispers that were both insane and primal, and Scarlet Sage gasped for a moment before she looked up as her eyes flashed as the Takers all looked suddenly, sharply up... and then the Pegasus bared her teeth, her eyes glowing brighter as she realized these monsters all shared almost identical blood, that she wasn't just tapping into the wounded beast, she could tap into the others nearby as well. Green electricity sizzled over the Takers' horns, and then they threw their heads back and screamed: and behind her, where the monster had stumbled back into the alley, the blinded Taker Beetle howled miserably as well as psychic static shocked through its mind. The Takers collapsed one-by-one as Scarlet Sage used her powers to block the mental link between the servants and their Queen, even as she could feel the accumulating rage of their hive mind trying to smash into her own brain, trying to order her to do things, trying to simply hurt this intruder into their mentality as Scarlet Sage shivered, then spread her wings and leapt to the air, rasping: "Just hold on... just hold on..." But the blood was already taking a toll on her: even if she was immune to most diseases and blood-borne infections, the blood was alien, monstrous, unnatural: and far worse were the effects on her mind, as it gave her both the power to crush the minds of the Takers near her, but also made her into as much as a receiver for Griselda as the rest of the hive was. She could feel the mental pressure building slowly, and she knew it wouldn't be long before she would have to break the link she had forged through Taker blood or risk her mind crumbling, and... who knew what would happen then. But for now, she shot onwards, and the Takers she passed or who drew near to her shrieked in agony, feeling mental static blasting through their minds and severing the ever-important link with their Queen when the Pegasus came within twenty feet of them. Scarlet Sage was already beginning to turn pale, though, and she was unsteady by the time she reached the square, which was littered not just with bodies of Takers but barricades and a few fallen Starlit Knights and Nibelung as well. Celestia glanced sharply towards her, and Scarlet Sage stumbled, then leaned to the side and vomited loudly before shivering once. But then her pallor slowly began to return as the winged unicorn approached with Sleipnir, Discombobulation and Pinkamena, and Scarlet Sage looked up as she shook herself out, whispering: "I'm okay. I was able to make a blood link with the Takers... it lets me break into their minds. But it hurts like hell and I felt... I felt myself losing myself. I just broke the connection, and I can already feel my strength coming back, though, I'll do it again in a few minutes." "Scarlet Sage, it's too dangerous if it has that much an effect on you." Celestia said quietly, but Scarlet Sage shook her head vehemently as she slowly straightened. "No, it'll be fine." she said forcefully, breathing a little harder, and Celestia looked down at her apprehensively before the Blood Seer whispered: "I want to use my powers for good, not evil. Healing ponies is a start, but fighting these monsters off is even better in some ways. Besides, it's the best way to ensure that you guys get to Griselda, Celestia." "You're taking after your mother, Scarlet Sage." Celestia said softly, and Scarlet Sage smiled wanly before the ivory winged unicorn nodded quickly, looking up towards the sky as the screams of Takers sounded from above. "We have no time to argue, anyway. Discombobulation, where's Discord?" "Either hiding or 'lying in wait,' but they both amount to the same thing." Discombobulation replied mildly, rubbing slowly as his metallic limb as he glanced moodily up. "Don't count on Discord to help, Celestia. It's the only way you can be sure that he will. Don't worry, I'll do the dreaded 'protect the village' mission and wait out the timer until he decides to show up." The winged unicorn nodded quickly, then she glanced over her shoulder as the Draconequus bowed and vanished: Sleipnir was bruised, his armor damaged, but he looked ready: likewise, Pinkamena had a few cuts that were healing much slower than her normal rapid regeneration, but she was grinning and her red-rimmed eyes were all-but-glowing, as she looked up and said coldly: "Come on, Princess Sunshine. We don't got time to dally." "You're right." Celestia closed her eyes, rolling her shoulders slowly, feeling Tyrfing's strangely comforting weight before she glanced up as one of Griselda's echoing roars tore through the air, saying sharply: "There is no failure here. We either achieve victory or we are all destroyed. Understood?" "Aye, big sister, and let us hope we do not die just yet. 'Twould be embarrassing, Luna would surely never let us live it down... or well, thou knows what I mean." Sleipnir replied with a firm smile, looking up and nodding quickly, and Celestia shook her head slowly as Pinkamena smiled wryly at her husband. "Honor to us, sister!" "Honor above all." Celestia agreed, and then she turned and began to sprint forwards, the other ponies falling in pace beside her as she shouted: "Let's show these cowards what that means!" Sleipnir and Pinkamena both roared, and Scarlet Sage gritted her teeth as the group sprinted down the road, charging past Takers and soldiers that were fighting back the invading bug-beasts alongside demons and other forces; they passed ponies young and old fighting as fiercely and fearlessly as they could against monsters spawned by raw destruction, and sights both incredible and terrible: and yet all the same, there was no time to slow, to stop, only to charge forwards as the looming monster in the distance tore itself ever closer. They reached the gates in record time, trampling their way through any monstrosity that dared to get in their path, and as they shot out into the field they were joined by Burning Desire, Selene, and Zecora. The group of demons, pony and zebra rammed down a safe aisle left between the traps and barricades, as Takers engaged the first line of defense and stumbled into traps and clawed over walls, howling in hunger and fury as the horde pushed ever forwards. A bug-beast lunged into their path, and without slowing, Celestia leapt forwards as Tyrfing snapped off her back, whickering out to decapitate it in one fell swoop. The others leapt around the stumbling, headless body, but Scarlet Sage spread her wings and swiped her hooves through the monster's blood as she passed before quickly licking it up as she flew above the group, her eyes beginning to glow as she reforged the mental link and looked up with a snarl. She felt their minds again, felt the link becoming solid... and then Griselda roared, and horrific, animal visions tore through her brain, Scarlet Sage screaming in shock before blood burst from her ears as she reared back, a convulsion ripping through her body as mental claws savaged her mind, mental jaws bit violently again and again and again into her psyche. She tumbled from the air with a gargle, and Burning Desire winced over his shoulder as Takers screamed in what sounded like mocking pleasure before the demon leapt backwards with a curse to charge towards the fallen Pegasus. He smashed one Taker away as it lunged towards Scarlet's prone, drooling form, then snapped his horn outwards, creating a cloud of smoke around them. It disoriented the other beasts that were trying to close in, and a moment later Burning Desire lunged out of the crowd with a curse, hurrying back towards the front lines with Scarlet Sage on his back. He risked a look over his shoulder, and then snapped his horn to the side to create a wall of fire that drove back the Takers trying to follow him, before looking ahead and wincing as a Taker leapt in front of him; he was saved by a golden blur, however, and the demon staggered to a halt as the Taker was crushed face-first into the ground. A second Taker lunged at the back of the Pegasus, but she calmly swung one rear hoof back and smashed it backwards, before her single wing flapped as she pushed herself off the ground, doing a short, rolling flip over a Taker that tried to dive into her. Both her hooves crashed down into its back and forced it down, and like liquid, she swept one hoof quickly to the side: it first smashed across the back of the pinned Taker's head, knocking it senseless, before catching a second Taker by the face and slamming it firmly down into the one she had already pinned, cracking both their skulls. Then Fluttershy looked over her shoulder, eyes glowing with a strange luminescence as she said quietly: "Please, let's hurry back inside. I don't like doing this, even though I let Nirvana take away my fear for now." Burning Desire nodded curtly, then he risked another look back over his shoulder even as more Takers screamed and surged in around them... but the group was almost at Griselda now. But Celestia snarled as a swarm of Takers charged towards them, led by several enormous Beetles... except Sleipnir barreled past her with a grin, shouting to his sister as he ran by: "I shall join thee as soon as I can, Celestia, but it seems first I must play a game with these silly children!" "Sleipnir!" Celestia shouted... but the gigantic earth pony had already rammed into the first Beetle, knocking it flying and drawing the attention of the other monsters to him. Then Celestia cursed, leaping to the air and spreading her wings as Zecora skidded to a halt and yanked a potion out of the belt around her body, throwing it with a hard toss into another Taker Beetle that was running towards them, and it exploded with a tremendous bang as the zebra shouted some insult in her own language, drawing attention to her as well. A bug-beast lunged at the striped equine's flank, and Zecora winced... but a moment later, Pinkamena crushed the beast out of the air with her axe, grinning darkly over at the zebra as she said easily: "Looks like you owe your life to a demon now, shaman. Must be humiliating, being saved by one of my kind and all." Zecora only gave a thin smile even as her eyes flicked up, sending a silent prayer to Celestia and Selene as the two flew quickly towards Griselda. The monster glared at them with its single, baleful green eye, roaring as it dragged itself forwards, and Celestia's eyes locked on the wound in the living hive's stomach before Selene said softly: "I'm sorry, Dawn Bringer. It looks like you face this alone." Shrieks sounded through the air, and Celestia looked up in shock as a swarm of Takers lifted off from where they had been roosting over Griselda's back, flying eagerly forwards... but Selene gracefully shot upwards to meet them, the Nephilim's horn beginning to glow as her endless gaze locked on the horde, saying softly: "Your kind means nothing to me." Celestia cursed and forced herself to look down even as a shockwave rippled through the air, pushing herself into flying harder, faster, diving towards the open entrance that led into the living hive as Griselda roared and continued to drag itself ever forwards... and just as she arched her back, swooping in as Tyrfing drew back beside her, just as she began to drop into the torn-open jaw of the cavern, a hideous, mottled white shape lunged out and tackled her, knocking her crashing backwards as Cancer's claws ripped into her armor and he screamed gleefully into her face: "Been waiting for you, white weasel! What took you so long?" Celestia's wings flapped wildly as she shouted in pain, twisting back and forth as Cancer cackled as his lower body became serpentine, twisting violently around Celestia's lower body before they both cursed as she zigzagged through the air and ricocheted off Griselda's chest. Still, the winged unicorn forced herself to continue to fly upwards even as Cancer tried to drag her down, his claws locked into her shoulders as he constricted tighter around her, turning her armor into a painful cage as he continued in a vicious, eager voice: "You and me got a bone to pick before I kill you, bitch! You're gonna be the perfect bait for that scumbag crowbait punk kid of yours!" "Get off me!" Celestia snarled, sweeping in Tyrfing, but Cancer only shoved himself against her with a snarl, making her body sway and narrowly dodging the awkward swipe of the blade before the destruction entity leaned back and swung a claw out, hitting the flat of the sword and knocking it loose from Celestia's telekinetic grip. It fell through the air, spinning wildly as Celestia tried to turn, still trying her hardest to fly, to stay in control, as Cancer clung to her and they shot higher, higher, higher... Celestia's horn began to glow, and Cancer snarled as he brought a claw back as it warped into a bony blade, preparing to strike... and then he screamed as both he and Celestia were encased in a golden glow. They were flying above Griselda now, twisting back and forth through the air, both of them shining with radiance, Celestia wincing in agony as she felt the monster crushing her even as she forcefully tried to neutralize him, making the beast's body ripple as he howled in pain and struggled against the energy that was coursing through him and turning his body to wax. They were trapped in stalemate, Celestia unable to focus on another spell as her pain worsened with every movement, and Cancer unable to move with the holy energy flooding his poisonous system, unable to transform his body or swing his bony blade forwards no matter how hard he tried. They were like a glowing beacon, and Cowlick cursed from where she was standing on top of the engineering building, binoculars focused on this before they roved to Griselda. The monster was still moving closer, was beginning to tear into the plains now, and after that it would be mere minutes before it reached Ponyville. The glowing star could only be Celestia trying to fight off something, and if even Celestia was being kept busy she didn't want to guess what had happened to the others... "Momma, what is it?" Rustproof asked worriedly as he hurried towards her, and Cowlick grimaced over her shoulder at her son. He was dressed in his rumpled engineer's overalls, but one of the dark stains along his arm was clearly blood or pus from his wound that still wasn't healing properly. "Get back inside, Rusty, that's an order not just from your Momma but from your boss." Cowlick said sharply, and Rustproof winced before the engineer growled out at the battlefield, tossing the binoculars away and turning to half-shove Rustproof towards the door. "Come on, I need you shipping stuff out. Looks like everything's gone to hell... you rigged up the last of those barrels of blessed oil yet, in case Greece has gotta try and buy time for Ponyville to be evacuated?" "Bombs are set up..." Rustproof said nervously as they strode through the open door and hurried down the stairs, Cowlick still pushing her son ahead of her before he added quickly: "Momma, you need to go stay with Dad, you ain't-" "I'm fine!" Cowlick shouted, then she shook her head sharply as Rustproof quailed a bit, cursing under her breath before looking almost pleadingly at her son. "Kid, you gotta do what's right, no matter what other ponies tell you, okay? What happens to me don't matter, not if it protects you and your Dad, and goddammit, I am not going to just sit around here and wait to die! I might not be able to stop that monster out there but I'm gonna damn well kill every one of those fugly bastards I can!" She half-shoved Rustproof across the second floor landing, then pointed at him and said firmly: "Go down to the basement, help the others. Momma's gonna go out and do what she does best. You take care of things, Rusty, you're... you're my son, and I love you. You take care of your Dad, too." "Momma, no!" Rustproof shouted, but Cowlick only shook her head and turned, shoving through the doors as the blue earth pony looked after her with a tremble, then he winced and grabbed his wounded limb as it gave an ache... but the tears in his eyes weren't from any physical pain as he looked after her, whispering: "I love you too, Momma, but..." Rustproof trembled, then reached up and rubbed at his face before turning and stumbling down the stairs to the basement level. He shoved his way through the doors, the enormous blue earth pony breathing hard as he hurried towards the assembly room, where workers were assembling clips of bullets, guns, everything and anything that could be passed out in a hurry to the soldiers outside. Yet his hooves stopped and refused to take him forwards another step as he began to pass the testing room, breathing hard as he slowly turned his attention towards the double doors before hurrying forwards and shoving his way through. He looked first at Parsimony, then towards the wooden barrels that had been rigged into crude bombs, alongside several tanks of chemical fuel Rustproof had been mixing and working on timers for before he'd gone to worriedly look for his mother when she hadn't joined him... and then lastly, his eyes roved to what they'd moved out of the assembly room and into here for storage. Rustproof's personal project... His eyes locked on this, then moved towards the barrels: he glanced back and forth, breathing hard before he felt a strange epiphany rise in his mind, a sense of destiny, of everything that had meant to be. And the earth pony turned his eyes towards his toolkit before he ran forwards, gritting his teeth as he went immediately to work, moving faster and more desperately than he ever had in his entire life. Only a floor above, Cowlick strode towards the doors leading out of the engineering building, her bandanna tied tight around her forehead and goggles over her eyes, rifle on her back but another weapon of her own design holstered by one hip: the handle was built to lock around her hoof, with no guard and a lengthened trigger her hoof could use easily. It had twin, black barrels and she needed to reload it after every shot... but she had plenty of shells for the shotgun in the bandolier around her body. She opened the pack hanging on her other hip and yanked out a plastic bottle, fumbling off the cap before simply tilting it back to pour several pills into her mouth and loudly chewing the amphetamines up. She simply tossed the rest of the bottle aside, then reached back and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. She took her time lighting up, letting the amphetamines kick in, senses sharpening, muscles tightening, her already wild thoughts becoming a little more blurred together before she tucked the lighter away and shoved the doors open, storming out into the street and cracking her neck as she exhaled a blast of smoke from her nose. The engineer turned to stride fearlessly down the street towards the open gates, ignoring the screams of the Takers, ignoring the corpses she strode over, her eyes glaring out from behind her goggles. She could see the monster closing in, could hear Griselda's roars echoing through the dark sky, and it made her blood boil as she snarled: "I swear that if I have to I will kill you myself, you oversized bitch. I may not be any demon or Valkyrie or hero or whatever, but I'll be damned if I let you lay a single goddamn claw on my town or my son while I'm still breathing!" Then Cowlick glanced up as a scream filled the air and a Taker dove down towards her, but the mare leaned back and shoved her hoof back through the loop handle of the shotgun, yanking it free from the holster and swinging the sawed-off up to fire a shot directly into the monster's face, blowing most of its head away as she shouted furiously: "I ain't scared of you! I ain't scared of any of you! I can't put stuff together no more but I can sure as hell take each and every one of you bastards apart!" Cowlick snapped the shotgun open, ejecting the empty shells and shoving two more quickly into place as her eyes glowed with rage, adrenaline, and amphetamine-enhanced madness, and then she hurried forwards as fast as she could on three legs with the shotgun secured over the forth. Another Taker attempted to charge in from the side, but Cowlick only slapped it hard across the face with the sawed-off, making it squawk before she shoved the gun into its jaws, grinning viciously before she pulled the trigger and reveled in the splatter that resulted. She reloaded and continued forwards, tucking the shotgun away only after she passed through the gate and the Starlit Knights and Nibelung that were firing into the ever-forcing-forwards crowd of bug-creatures along the front lines. The engineer licked her lips at this, rolling her cigarette between her teeth before she drew her rifle off her back, taking aim with it and muttering: "This is where I wanna be. Let me show you how it's done." Her hooves were steady, her aim was as good as ever, and bullet after bullet blasted into Takers, some passing dangerously close to other warriors and demons on the field. But she didn't care: her mind was a maelstrom and all she could think about was killing these monsters, was hurting them, was fighting for as long as she could, to give her family a chance to survive and escape. She snarled, fearsome as any demon on the battlefield, her mind filled with swirling images of love and death. Then she frowned as a rumbling filled the air, looking up sharply: it grew, louder and louder, and Cowlick cursed before she turned around, beginning to raise her rifle, wondering if it meant the monsters that were flying over them had decided to try and pincer the front line instead of wreaking havoc in town... before she simply stared in shock at the sight of what was approaching with a mechanical roar. It was the project Rustproof had been building to try and impress her: a motorized bike, a wide, almost one-ton two wheeled monster of a machine with a low saddle seat and polished black and blue metal making up the thick frame. The engine of the motorcycle roared as it shot towards them, powered by chemical fuel and enhanced with voltaic topazes, and Rustproof himself was astride the goliath bike, rear hooves locked securely into fitted cusps and front hooves grasping the wide handlebars, his orange mane blowing back in the wind as he leaned forwards. And on either side of the motorcycle, he had managed to rig up the explosive barrels and fuel containers near the additional thrusters on the bike's rear, and Cowlick could only gape as Rustproof shot forwards on the motorcycle, unable to fathom what she was seeing before her son blasted by and the force of his passage knocked her stumbling. She stared after him, and then her eyes widened, forgetting about the bloodshed, the violence, and everything else as she threw her rifle away and sprinted into the field, screaming: "Rustproof, stop!" But the enormous blue earth pony only closed his eyes for a moment, shivering as he twisted the throttle higher, and engine roared in response as the motorcycle tore through the field. Then he looked sharply up, breathing hard, and feeling a strange serenity despite everything else that was going on around him as he weaved past screaming Takers, barricades, and startled soldiers, swerving back and forth as the motorcycle he had poured so much of himself into building responded like it was part of his body, better than he'd ever dreamed. The rubber tires ripped up the field as he tore through it, and Rustproof gritted his teeth, eyes blazing as he focused on his objective, determination rising up through the strange sense of peace: no longer was there fear, or anxiety, or anything else. Just a need to do, just a need to follow through with this, just the one chance he knew he had to protect the ponies who had always protected him. Who had taken him in, loved him, made him feel like he belonged here in this village, with all his friends and family he would do anything, give anything, to save... The earth pony twisted the handlebars hard, then dropped a hoof back, seizing the lever that stood out on the side of the bike as he skidded around a Taker Beetle that lunged at him before he tensed his body, leaning back slightly as another Taker Beetle directly ahead set itself in his path and roared at him... and just past it was Griselda, dragging herself ever closer, ignoring enemy and ally in her way as the wound pulsed in her stomach... The Taker Beetle vomited a spray of goo at the motorcycle, and Rustproof leaned to the side, rider and machine just swaying out of the way before he leaned backwards with a grunt and yanked hard on the handlebars: the front tire of the bike rose high as Rustproof shot towards the Beetle, then the motorcycle slammed into the monster, Rustproof grunting as the bike bounced and the creature was squished back with a shriek before the motorcycle shot up the dome-shaped carapace like a ramp and launched into the air. The earth pony leaned forwards as he flew towards the opening leading into the inner hive, but the arc was too short to make it... and then, just as he began to fall, he slammed the lever forwards, and the thrusters around the motorcycle's back tire burst into life, giving him the extra boost he needed into the tunnel. The bike shot straight through the passage like a steel comet, Rustproof leaning forwards as he bounced painfully before hurtling into the chamber that housed Griselda, the motorcycle knocking Taker Guards flying like dominoes as the Queen reared back in shock at the sight. Her horn started to glow too little, too late, as she shrieked in surprise... and then Rustproof wrenched the handlebars hard to the side, and the motorcycle twisted as it skidded over the floor before crashing sideways into Griselda, one of the barrels of blessed oil bursting apart as the Queen started to raise her arms defensively. One of her limbs was wrenched almost out of her socket as the other snapped like a twig, and the bike rose halfway up her twisted body as fuel splashed up over the monstrosity. Griselda screamed as a shudder ran through the living hive and the Takers all squealed, Rustproof cursing in pain and disorientation at the sudden stop... and then he closed his eyes, breathing slowly as the knocked-flat monster snarled, then reached a claw up and seized into the handlebars of the stalled motorcycle, yanking herself slowly up as she bared her fangs at him, then screamed at the earth pony. Yet Rustproof didn't look at her: he didn't even look at the Takers as they began to close in, instead slowly straightening with his eyes still closed before he calmly reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes. He popped this open, leaning down to put one between his lips before he rose his head and opened his eyes, and then he absently shook a single wooden match out of the box into his hoof. Griselda froze at the sight of this, her claw still grasping the handlebar of the bike to hold herself steady, other arm hanging limply at her side as the Taker Guard all froze as well. She seemed to realize what it meant, as fuel continued to spill out from the shattered barrel, forming a larger and larger puddle around them as it glistened over her body and half of her skull-like features. Rustproof smiled calmly, then he brought the match up and gently put it against Griselda's skull-like face before flicking it firmly, and the monster flinched as the match sparked into life. Slowly, Rustproof brought it back, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep inhale as Griselda rasped in and out, trembling at the sight of the burning match before Rustproof slowly shook it out and tossed the blackened stump quietly away. The monster hissed at this as if relieved, glaring more defiantly up at Rustproof now, even as its eyes stayed nervously on the lit cigarette as the earth pony took a long drag, then pulled it out of his muzzle with a smile. He studied the cylinder as he blew out a plume of smoke, and then his eyes flicked fearlessly up to Griselda, saying quietly: "It's funny, you know. Momma always said smoking would kill me. Says I gotta quit these things before somethin' bad happens to me. But it was always hard for me, findin' a reason I should stop. Always felt like it was part of me somehow." He stopped, then brought the cigarette to his muzzle, taking another slow drag before tapping the ashes aside... and then he smiled again as he looked calmly into the monster's eyes, pulling it loose from his jaws and saying softly: "I guess we were both kinda right." For a few moments, Rustproof studied the cigarette in his hoof like it was the final piece to some magnificent puzzle, the answer to all of life's riddles... and then he simply held it out to the side and allowed the cylinder to drop. It spun once as it fell through the air, and Griselda shrieked and grabbed wildly at it as Taker Guards rushed vainly forwards, and Rustproof only smiled and closed his eyes. The cigarette landed in a puddle of golden oil, floating for a moment before the volatile fuel burst into aureate flames that raced up along the streaks of chemical and blessed oil over Griselda's body. The creature threw her head back and screamed in terror as much as pain, rearing away and staring in horror as the fires eagerly spread backwards to the shattered barrel in the same moment- The living hive's howls of agony were nothing compared to the explosion that lit up the night, the entire monstrosity becoming nothing but a massive bonfire of gold and red and toxic green. It screamed, and the Takers screamed with it, and Cancer looked down with shock from where he and Celestia were still wrestling in the skies above, his grip loosening and giving Celestia enough time to snap her horn out and blast Cancer loose from her body, sending him falling with a howl of denial towards his burning bride below. Cowlick's wordless shriek cut above even the screams of the Takers and their Queen, and ponies stared in awe, in shock, in joy, in pain towards the living hive as it gave another mournful wail, as more explosions tore up through its body as it burned rapidly away from within. The monstrosity quaked, then howled in torment before slowly, lethargically beginning to collapse forwards, crashing down to the field and shaking the earth with its death. Takers too, were falling, their queen's death sending the furthest into short-lived frenzies before they fell still, the closest simply slumping to the ground, mindless and dead. In one fell swoop, the living hive and its terrible, insectile army had been eradicated... and not by any Valkyrie or demon or warrior, not by winged unicorn or chosen one, but a young earth pony who was really only just a colt for all his size, by a prodigal engineer who had always been quiet, and kind, and done his best to be good for all his flaws. And even as a few soldiers tried to cheer, Cowlick's cries of pain and denial was what tore loudest through the air as she hammered her hooves against the ground, goggles doing nothing to hide her tears as she stared weakly at the burning pyre that was her son's last act of love, devotion, and sacrifice. Category:Transcript Category:Story